One of the strangest things about traveling from Egypt to Morocco is exiting a news maelstrom and entering a low-news-pressure zone. Egypt is so full of news these days, and so the focus of international media, that it is almost shocking to me to be in a country that, when Google-searched, does not even return any news stories. And yet, of course, things are happening here too. I was also shocked, for example, to find out that 80 people have set themselves on fire in Morocco since 2011.
I was traveling last weekend (to Fez, which after the devastation that Aleppo has suffered is probably the most amazing medieval Arab city in the region) so I have just found time to link to this post, for the NYTime’s Latitude blog, about Morocco’s political scene.
Not much depth, but the piece is ok, although referring to hizb alistiqlal (independence party) as secular is like living in wonderland. This is one of the most reactionary forces in morocco, it’s actually the closest thing to what you could call crony fascism.